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See the Light

Hello,
Readers! It’s the first day of August, and I guess I should have a new theme to
discuss this month. Yup, August is coming. And I’ve been thinking that, since
I’ve been infatuated with television series “Game of Thrones” for these years,
but I never really used it as an inspiration for post’s theme, so I would like
to name this month’s theme based on it (pardon me, I’m still in hype from
having finished watching season five). This amazing TV series has so many
powerful words in it, but recently, I took a quiz about ‘Which house of “Game
of Thrones” do you belong to?’ and the result was House Tyrell. Therefore I’m
inspired to make the words of House Tyrell as this month’s theme: Growing Strong. Yup, apparently that’s
the new theme, everybody! Because with all the moments of our lives that we’ve
spent in the past, now we must seize the moments of our lives in the present,
so that they can be moments of our lives that will be remembered in the future;
and in order to be able to realize it, we must be growing strong.

“All
those days watching from the windows, all those years outside looking in, all
that time never even knowing, just how blind I’ve been. Now I’m here blinking
in the starlight, now I’m here suddenly I see, standing here it’s all so clear,
I’m where I’m meant to be.” –Mandy Moore & Zachary Levi, I See The Light [OST. Tangled]

For
the first day of Growing Strong, I
present to you the song titled “I See The Light”. The song is written by
composer Alan Menken and lyricist Glenn Slater for Walt Disney Animation Studios’ 50th
animated feature motion picture, “Tangled”. It’s a the folk-inspired pop ballad
that serves as both the 2010 film’s love and theme song. It
was released on November 16th 2010 as a part of “Tangled: Original Soundtrack”
album. This duet track was originally recorded by American actress and singer Mandy
Moore and American actor Zachary Levi, in their respective film
roles as main characters couple, Rapunzel and Flynn Rider. “I See the
Light” has garnered numerous awards and accolades, including winning the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media.

"Tangled: Original Soundtrack" album cover - source: en.wikipedia.org

At
some point in life, there’s a time when we feel like our life is meant for it;
that everything we’ve been through, every moment that has happened, all of it
leads us up to this point; that we were born to this, that we live for having this
moment. The lyrics of “I See The Light” tell about that kind of feeling, when
we finally live our dreams and have the moment. For some girl, it’s as simple
as experiencing every moment for the first time, learning that there’s more to
life than it usually seems. “All those
days watching from the windows, all those years outside looking in, all that
time never even knowing, just how blind I’ve been. Now I’m here blinking in the
starlight, now I’m here suddenly I see, standing here it’s all so clear, I’m
where I’m meant to be.” For some boy, it’s as big as finding love for the
first time, knowing that there’s more to life than he used to live. “All those days chasing down a daydream, all
those years living in a blur, all that time never truly seeing things the way
they were. Now she’s here shining in the starlight, now she’s here suddenly I
know, if she’s here it’s crystal clear, I’m where I’m meant to go.”

For
Rapunzel, the feeling comes when she finally sees the lanterns up close and has
this moment. For Flynn, it comes when he sees life in a whole new way through
Rapunzel and finally finds a dream to pursue. It’s the end of a journey for
someone and the beginning of another journey for someone else. For some people,
it comes when they finally live their dreams, when they finally understand the
meaning of their existences in this world, when they finally realize that the
life is indeed worth everything they’ve been through. For some people, it comes
when they finally find a purpose to life, when they finally believe that there’s
more to it. For everyone, it’s a life-changing moment, when everything is real
and bright and heartwarming, when it opens up new perspectives toward life,
when they tell to themselves; from this point on, we must keep growing strong.
It’s a moment when they see the light, at last. “And at last I see the light, and it’s like the fog has lifted. And at
last I see the light, and it’s like the sky is new. And it’s warm and real and
bright, and the world has somehow shifted. All at once everything looks
different, now that I see you.”

The infamous "Lantern Sequence" from "Tangled" in which Rapunzel and Flynn perform "I See The Light"

In
the movie, “I See The Light” is performed during the infamous ‘lantern
sequence’, which has enjoyed widespread critical acclaim, with journalists and
commentators praising its visuals and use of 3D. The scene is exceptionally
wonderful and especially beautiful, while the song helps to build a classic
romantic feeling. The magical scene and the dreamy song just fall right into
place, giving this chill of heartwarming feeling inside. Such and incredible
feeling. The co-director Nathan Greno stated that the use of floating
lanterns during the scene was directly inspired by traditional Indonesian (my
country, yay!) ceremonies in Borobudur during the Waisak Day, when people ‘set up rice paper lanterns and send them
into the sky’.

“And
at last I see the light, and it’s like the fog has lifted. And at last I see
the light, and it’s like the sky is new. And it’s warm and real and bright, and
the world has somehow shifted. All at once everything looks different, now that
I see you.” –Mandy Moore & Zachary Levi, I See The Light [OST. Tangled]

“All
those days watching from the windows, all those years outside looking in

All
that time never even knowing, just how blind I’ve been

Now
I’m here blinking in the starlight, now I’m here suddenly I see

Standing
here it’s all so clear, I’m where I’m meant to be

And
at last I see the light, and it’s like the fog has lifted

And
at last I see the light, and it’s like the sky is new

And
it’s warm and real and bright, and the world has somehow shifted

All
at once everything looks different, now that I see you

All
those days chasing down a daydream, all those years living in a blur

All
that time never truly seeing things the way they were

Now
she’s here shining in the starlight, now she’s here suddenly I know